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So it seems like this wiki holds Marco as not quite being at Big Mom's level (but instead just saying that he "held his own"). This isn't too big of an issue, but it might have ramifications for scaling down the line, and on a personal note, I don't quite agree with that.
Let's look at the fight:
A couple of things to note here:
1. This is a completely equal clash in terms of physical power exerted by each character, similar to when Gear 4 and Big Mom clashed. This is to be expected as Marco is a Mythical Zoan and his physical abilities should be very high because of this. Big Mom even seems to be the one at the disadvantage here in the bottom right panel.
2. There is no indication, visually or otherwise, that either of these two characters is actually using Haki. Interesting to note, there are indications that Marco has advanced Haki, while we have only ever seen “Flame Koka” from Big Mom. I won’t elaborate on either for now.
However, Marco was the clear winner of this one clash thanks to this moment here:
Marco and Big Mom clash as physical equals, but Marco had the Devil Fruit advantage. Marco points this out while smiling at Big Mom and showing no fear of her. Objectively speaking, advantage Marco.
This next part is where things get really weird for me:
Firstly, obviously note that Marco shows concern for Perospero, not Big Mom.
Second, I’ve seen people say that Big Mom choking Marco in and of itself shows an notable power gap between the two. But this is wrong:
Luffy one shot Hajrudin but was helpless when Hajrudin grabbed him, showing that Big Mom grabbing Marco proves nothing about her power level. Oda does not write power levels in such a basic way.
Third, I just find it really uncharacteristic of Big Mom to ask Perospero to intervene here, especially when she chided Katakuri at the Wedding for doing something similar.
The point I’m trying to make is that I think it’s simultaneously impossible to think that Big Mom would’ve defeated Marco here while she simultaneously asks Perospero to intervene in the fight. Marco has up until this point showed no fear of Big Mom whatsoever, and his concern for Perospero is very real:
Now sure, would Perospero stand a chance against Marco if Big Mom wasn’t holding him in place? Probably not, but the overall takeaway is this:
-Big Mom actively asks Perospero to intervene in her fight against Marco
-Marco showed no concern or fear of Big Mom whatsoever, only showing concern when Perospero arrives on the scene.
The next thing that I think is interesting to note is that there is no clear indication of how Marco got out of Big Mom’s chokehold.
She is holding him here: https://i.imgur.com/ZBV0Ein.jpg
But then he is mysteriously free here: https://i.imgur.com/FHTPqSN.jpg
Does this mean that Marco escaped her chokehold? It’s inconclusive, but the thing is that whether or not Marco escaped her is irrelevant.
The fact is, you cannot say Big Mom could’ve beaten Marco when she uncharacteristically asks for help from one of her children. The meaning is clear, Big Mom could not defeat Marco on her own. At least, not quickly and easily.
And then of course Big Mom tries to save face: https://i.imgur.com/jtSsW9o.jpg (Note that she says that she doesn't have any souls/Homies to use against him at the moment, implying that she feels like she could only beat him with at least 2 Homies)
This is exactly what we should expect from a character who asks her son to help her with a fight, and then her son is defeated, taking her only advantage away. Big Mom is an ego-driven character (she’s literally only in Wano due to her bruised ego), so let her say whatever she wants to save face.
However, this clash does not indicate that Marco is stronger than Big Mom. The only thing this clash tells us, is that Big Mom and Marco are a lot closer in power than most of the fandom believes, which is consistent with what I and other serious power scaling posters have been saying for a long time.
Thus, I believe that Marco's writeup should be edited to say that his Post-Timeskip self "Fought and matched Big Mom, even overpowering her Homie-infused punch", or something among those lines.
Let's look at the fight:
A couple of things to note here:
1. This is a completely equal clash in terms of physical power exerted by each character, similar to when Gear 4 and Big Mom clashed. This is to be expected as Marco is a Mythical Zoan and his physical abilities should be very high because of this. Big Mom even seems to be the one at the disadvantage here in the bottom right panel.
2. There is no indication, visually or otherwise, that either of these two characters is actually using Haki. Interesting to note, there are indications that Marco has advanced Haki, while we have only ever seen “Flame Koka” from Big Mom. I won’t elaborate on either for now.
However, Marco was the clear winner of this one clash thanks to this moment here:
Marco and Big Mom clash as physical equals, but Marco had the Devil Fruit advantage. Marco points this out while smiling at Big Mom and showing no fear of her. Objectively speaking, advantage Marco.
This next part is where things get really weird for me:
Firstly, obviously note that Marco shows concern for Perospero, not Big Mom.
Second, I’ve seen people say that Big Mom choking Marco in and of itself shows an notable power gap between the two. But this is wrong:
Luffy one shot Hajrudin but was helpless when Hajrudin grabbed him, showing that Big Mom grabbing Marco proves nothing about her power level. Oda does not write power levels in such a basic way.
Third, I just find it really uncharacteristic of Big Mom to ask Perospero to intervene here, especially when she chided Katakuri at the Wedding for doing something similar.
The point I’m trying to make is that I think it’s simultaneously impossible to think that Big Mom would’ve defeated Marco here while she simultaneously asks Perospero to intervene in the fight. Marco has up until this point showed no fear of Big Mom whatsoever, and his concern for Perospero is very real:
Now sure, would Perospero stand a chance against Marco if Big Mom wasn’t holding him in place? Probably not, but the overall takeaway is this:
-Big Mom actively asks Perospero to intervene in her fight against Marco
-Marco showed no concern or fear of Big Mom whatsoever, only showing concern when Perospero arrives on the scene.
The next thing that I think is interesting to note is that there is no clear indication of how Marco got out of Big Mom’s chokehold.
She is holding him here: https://i.imgur.com/ZBV0Ein.jpg
But then he is mysteriously free here: https://i.imgur.com/FHTPqSN.jpg
Does this mean that Marco escaped her chokehold? It’s inconclusive, but the thing is that whether or not Marco escaped her is irrelevant.
The fact is, you cannot say Big Mom could’ve beaten Marco when she uncharacteristically asks for help from one of her children. The meaning is clear, Big Mom could not defeat Marco on her own. At least, not quickly and easily.
And then of course Big Mom tries to save face: https://i.imgur.com/jtSsW9o.jpg (Note that she says that she doesn't have any souls/Homies to use against him at the moment, implying that she feels like she could only beat him with at least 2 Homies)
This is exactly what we should expect from a character who asks her son to help her with a fight, and then her son is defeated, taking her only advantage away. Big Mom is an ego-driven character (she’s literally only in Wano due to her bruised ego), so let her say whatever she wants to save face.
However, this clash does not indicate that Marco is stronger than Big Mom. The only thing this clash tells us, is that Big Mom and Marco are a lot closer in power than most of the fandom believes, which is consistent with what I and other serious power scaling posters have been saying for a long time.
Thus, I believe that Marco's writeup should be edited to say that his Post-Timeskip self "Fought and matched Big Mom, even overpowering her Homie-infused punch", or something among those lines.
